Skip to main content
Intellect

Wheatley Conference focuses on defense of the family

The Wheatley Institution will conduct a conference on "Defense of the Family: Natural Law and Perspectives" Thursday, Jan. 27, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. in the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center at Brigham Young University.

The event is free and open to the public.

A series of speakers throughout the day will include keynote speaker, Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University. All speakers will discuss matters of marriage and family as follows:

9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

    "Let No Man Put Asunder: Economic Theory and the Demise of the Natural Family"

    Catherine R. Pakaluk, assistant professor of business and economics, Ave Maria University.

    11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

      "Why Marriage Matters: A Natural Law Perspective on Marriage and Family Life"

      Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project, University of Virginia

      1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.

        "Missing Links: How U.S. Family Law Neglects Human Beings' Relational Nature"

        Helen Alvare, associate professor of law, George Mason University

        3:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.

          "What Is Marriage?"

          Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University

          George is founder and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, where he is also a professor of politics and an associated faculty member of the Department of Philosophy. A graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School, George received a master's degree in theology from Harvard and a doctorate in philosophy of law from Oxford University.

          Following George's address there will be an open format discussion from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m.

          For more information and a full schedule, visit wheatley.byu.edu or contact Lee Simons at (801) 422-2652 or lee_simons@byu.edu.

          Related Articles

          data-content-type="article"

          Meet the BYU math student helping make wildfire predictions faster and smarter

          June 25, 2025
          Using machine learning and math, a BYU student improved a key tool firefighters rely on during wildfire season
          overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
          data-content-type="article"

          Geology meets history: BYU professor studies WWII shrapnel on Normandy beaches

          June 05, 2025
          Eighty years after D-Day, BYU geologists uncover lingering WWII shrapnel on Normandy beaches to study how history still shapes the coastline today.
          overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
          data-content-type="article"

          Forum: Lessons from Noise: Crackle to Calm

          June 03, 2025
          This year’s Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Lecturer, Kent Gee, delivered his forum address on the science of sound and how he and BYU students have contributed to significant research in the acoustics industry.
          overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
          overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=